The Indian Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Kapil Sibal, who was present at the time of signing of the agreement called for a consensual approach to building institutional framework.

The Center of Excellence in Domain Name System Security is expected to work alongside ICANN security staff to design research projects intended to solve critical Domain Name System (DNS) security issues, such as thwarting cyber attacks. The Center is also envisioned to be home to a state-of-the-art research laboratory to evaluate and test security solutions.

The ICANN President and CEO Fadi Chehadé and the C-DAC Director General, Dr Rajat Moona signed a letter of intent (LoI) relating to the setting up of the Center at the ‘Internet, Mobile & Digital Economy Conference’ (IMDEC) organized by FICCI in association with the Ministry of Communications and IT, Government of India, here on Thursday.

The theme of the conference was ‘Internet to Equinet: Empowering A Billion Online’.

Sibal said that there was a need to create systems for encouraging free flow of information, moving away from the traditional idea that knowledge was a personal asset.

He said : “the way forward is to take the consensual approach where all the stakeholders including the government will have an equal say while deciding the institutional framework. Creating an inter-governmental group is not a solution because governments will have their differences.”

Besides, industry forms the crux of cyber space and without them feasible policy cannot be conceived, the Minister said.

To work towards creating equality of opportunity, the Minister said, “India is fully committed to freedom of expression. The Internet can help reach the remote villages for people to access information, removing the barriers of discipline and territory.”

However, he clarified that in the drive to share and spread of knowledge, intellectual property would have to be protected.

Sibal said that the spread of internet and technology is creating awareness among people; they now know of the public services that are available to them, and this was leading to the development of a transparent society.

Emphasizing the importance of reach of mobile phones, Sibal cited the example of Odisha cyclone where because of the presence of mobile phones people were warned about the impending disaster. They were able to vacate the disaster-prone areas in time, saving thousands of lives.

Speaking about the relevance of the Centre, the ICANN President and CEO Fadi Chehadé, said : “This center will play a central role in ensuring the security and stability of the Domain Name System. The Internet has become one of the world’s most valued resources and it is deserves nothing less than full global cooperation and collaboration in developing concrete solutions to combat threats to the DNS.”

The Deputy National Security Advisor of India, Nehchal Sandhu said that equal, unrestricted, affordable and sustainable access to ICT were needed to give equal opportunity to the people of India. Equal opportunity means democratic, transparent, collaborative and participatory way of knowledge sharing.

He said ”e-governance is a major tool for the government to make the system efficient and transparent. The government and businesses are both relying on each other and are inter-dependent to make it a success.”

The Secretary in the Department of Telecommunications in the Indian Ministry of Communications & IT, MF Farooqui said that internet and telephony being interconnected and people at the bottom of the pyramid can be empowered by granting them access to these tools. The National Optical Fibre Network tends to provide connectivity to 600 million people by 2020, which would open new choices for people.

Cloud computing, machine-to-machine exchange of information and location-based services have emerged as important tools that are helping in bridging the digital divide. And many more such technologies will come up in the near future to further connect the villages, he said.

The Secretary in the Department of Electronics & IT in the Indian Ministry of Communications & IT, J Satyanarayana said, “We are always in doubt when accessing the internet whether whatever is being shared is visible to someone else far off. We need to dispel this fear, which is associated to the internet.”

“Last week, the Union Cabinet approved the National Policy on Universal Electronic Accessibility that recognizes the need to eliminate discrimination on the basis of disabilities as well as to facilitate equal access to electronics and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). It is a step towards shifting emphasis from internet to equine,” he said.

Satyanarayana further said that the policy will facilitate equal and unhindered access to electronics and ICT products and services by differently-abled persons (both physically and mentally challenged) and to facilitate local language support.